Novel Hand is all about social and environmental impact.
But how do we create impact?
Today, I’m exploring some of the institutions and organizations that aim to create impact. I’ll start with fully public institutions and move along the spectrum to fully private institutions.
The Original Social Impact Institution: Government and Foreign Aid
Government might not be the first entity that comes to mind when you think of social impact– but policy and government programs are important and impactful. Many, if not all, policies have the primary goal of benefiting the public good.
For example, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) “leads international development and humanitarian efforts to save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance and help people progress beyond assistance” around the world. USAID is the United States government’s primary method to distribute foreign aid and enact global humanitarian programs.
To measure its impact, USAID uses the Program Cycle, “a common set of planning, implementation and learning processes intended to ensure USAID programs are effective and informed by evidence”. The ultimate goal of this evaluation method is to support countries so that they achieve self-reliance.
The Bread and Butter of Social Impact: Nonprofits and NGOs
Public sector organizations like nonprofits and non-governmental organizations are what one might traditionally think of as socially impactful institutions.
As Emma wrote a few months ago, the term ‘nonprofit’ refers to a legal definition and a specific organizational purpose. Nonprofits are beholden to a specific financing structure, and exist to serve the public good. World Vision International is a large nonprofit that provides humanitarian aid in over 100 countries.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are essentially a type of nonprofit. As Yuna wrote, “NGOs tend to be international organizations driven to make a larger impact, like advocating for Indigenous rights in South America.” Both nonprofits and NGOs work for the common good, but NGOs often work at a larger scale and a more prominent political influence.
According to the Council of Nonprofits, a nonprofit should measure impact, or the difference that it makes, by focusing on outcomes and evaluating performance to determine alignment with its mission. Nonprofits should be as effective as possible because they are operating with limited resources.
Not Business as Usual: Social Enterprise
Business is the last institution that most people think of having a positive impact. But in the past decade, consumers have increasingly called on business not just to consider corporate social responsibility, but also to prioritize purpose and impact as primary goals.
Social enterprises use a market-driven approach to drive environmental and social impact. They are often private businesses using unique profit models to create their impact while often incorporating as Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs). Social enterprises can also be nonprofits. Social enterprises like Unlocked follow an opportunity employment model, providing employment to those who face barriers to traditional employment. Other social enterprises drive impact through the specific products that they create, or by donating part or all of their profits to unmet needs.
B Corporations are certified businesses that meet specific standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to ultimately balance profit and purpose.
B Corps use the power of business to work towards reducing inequality, lowering poverty, protecting the environment, creating jobs, and countering social issues. They aim to use their business for the ultimate goal of creating positive impact for their employees, communities and the environment. To become a B Corp, a company has to go through a thorough impact assessment to measure its entire social and environmental performance. This includes their supply chain, input materials, how they compensate their employees, and dozens of other metrics. Learn more about B Corps in today’s Handful episode:
Social enterprises often measure the negative impact that they aren’t having, such as limiting greenhouse gas emissions from their operations. They also measure their positive impact. For example, Patagonia works to mitigate harm caused throughout their supply chain as an apparel brand. However, they also actively create positive impact by supporting environmental groups.
So What?
While there are many things that we can do as individuals to create impact, we are limited when we act alone.
As activists, we want to see positive change, and we want to see it sooner rather than later. While there are many things that we can do as individuals to create impact, we are limited when we act alone. Institutions have a responsibility to act ethically and for the common good– and some institutions do that better than others. By being aware of the institutions that have positive (and negative) impact, we can better understand their role in creating a more sustainable and equitable world.
As Novel Hand explores impact, we will consider how institutions can have an impact, and how effective institutional impact is.
Read more about social impact.
- College Football, Ariana Grande, and Water - September 3, 2023
- Livestock and Land Use: How Are We Feeding The Planet? Impactfull April 2022 - April 19, 2022
- What Does Voluntourism Look Like? A Case Study in a Cambodian Orphanage - March 28, 2022